In Loving Memory
by HighSchoolMusicalForever
Summary: Troy's thoughts on Gabriella's death and taking care of their daughter on their own...In loving memory of Kaitlyn...full explanation inside! Please R&R! Reposted, but no longer a oneshot!
1. In Loving Memory

_**In Loving Memory**_

**Hey, guys. I guess it's time for me to get serious now…this story is dedicated to a girl from my church that died in a car accident on Sunday night. Although I didn't know her very well, a church is a family, and I cried when I heard about it. I went to the funeral home tonight to see her, and I got this idea. I hope you like it, although I cried while writing it.**

Troy's POV

My name is Troy Bolton, and my girlfriend, the mother of my child, died last night. This morning I went and got a tattoo on my left bicep. It's a cross with roses and a banner that says _"In Loving Memory of Gabriella Alessiah Montez: November 3rd, 1989- February 4th, 2007. I Will Love You Forever." _As I sit on the couch at the funeral home, I can't help but ask myself why. Why did she have to die?

_FLASHBACK:_

_It all started when we were driving down a street that wasn't normally icy. Last night it just happened to be a bit slippery, and Gabriella was driving. She was being careful, but it was dark. We had left our five month old daughter with my parents for the evening._

_As we drove, I looked at Gabriella. She glanced at me for a second and blushed. _

"_Gabriella, I love you so much. I will love you until the day I die," I said._

"_I love you, too, Troy, until the day that I die and forever beyond that," she replied. _

_I guess she had started crying at that moment, because the next thing I knew, we were sliding across the road. Unable to take control of the vehicle, she reached over and grabbed my hand._

"_It's okay, Gabi. We're gonna be okay," I said to her. _

_At that moment, we slid into the ditch and flipped numerous times. The last thing I remember is hearing Gabi's screams before she crashed through the windshield. I saw her body sprawled across the hood of the car, and my world went dark._

_When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed, and there were flowers and cards. "Gabriella?" I asked softly, hoping for a response. Just hearing her sweet voice would calm my fears. _

_Instead, I heard my father. "Troy, Gabriella…she…" I looked up at him, and tears were streaming down his face. _

"_She what? Where's my girlfriend?"_

"_Troy, Gabriella…isn't with us anymore. I'm sorry. She's in Heaven," he finished._

_I started to cry. "Dad, can't they do anything?"_

"_I'm sorry, son. It killed her instantly. There is nothing they can do now. They tried."_

_I just sat and cried for what seemed like forever. Finally, Gabriella's mom came in with a wheelchair for me to sit in, although I wasn't hurt that badly. She wheeled me down the hallway to a secluded room, where I saw Gabriella's body. She was covered in cuts and bruises and you could barely tell it was her. But underneath, I saw my beautiful Gabriella, the same one who laughed at all of my jokes even if they weren't funny, the same one who told me she would love me until the day she died._

_Mrs. Montez left me alone with her body. I rested my weak hand over her heart, and I spoke softly, hoping she could hear me, even all the way up in Heaven. "Gabriella, I love you. Don't you ever forget that, even if you're in Heaven with Jesus. You're my baby, my sweetheart, my Angel. I will always love you, Gabi."_

_Just then, a strange presence pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked up, and there was a bright light. A figure glowed in its midst. "Troy," a voice said. I looked closer at the figure and saw that it was an angelic version of Gabriella. "Troy, I love you, too, and I'm sorry I had to leave you. It was my time to go, and I promise that I will be waiting for you when you get to Heaven. Don't ever forget me, Troy. Take care of Jasmine for me, okay?" And then she was gone. _

"_Troy? Troy?" my mother's voice asked. I shook my head, realizing that I had had a vision, a daydream, a mirage, if you will. My mother looked really worried, but she tried to be brave and continued. "Troy, they said you can come home now."_

"_Mom?" I asked, my voice shaking._

_She looked at me._

"_Is it okay that I'm sad? Scared? It is alright to cry?" I asked. _

"_Oh, Honey, yes. It's normal for you to cry. Go ahead, I'm here for you."_

_And with that, I began to cry._

_END FLASHBACK_

I sit here now among the flowers, cards, stuffed animals and photo albums. I looked down at one picture in particular, of me and Gabriella with a five minute old Jasmine the day she was born. Tears form in my eyes, but I try to hold them back. I have to be brave. For me, for Gabriella, for Jasmine. I know she wouldn't want me to be sad.

I looked up at Gabriella's casket, and once again, I try to reassure myself everything would be okay. I don't know how, but I know it will.

FIVE YEARS LATER:

I looked down at Gabriella's gravestone. It read, "In Loving Memory of Gabriella Alessiah Montez: November 3rd, 1989- February 4th, 2007. We love and miss you, Gabriella. May God Keep You In His Loving Arms Forever." Underneath, in smaller print, it read, "Gabriella- Precious Daughter, Loving Girlfriend, Caring Mother, Excellent Student, Best Friend- You Will Be Missed Greatly."

"Daddy?" a small voice asked from behind.

I looked down at my daughter. She looked exactly like her mother, brown hair, brown eyes, that same smile. "Yes, Jasmine?"

"Is it okay if I cry?"

I nodded, pulling her in for a hug. I kissed the top of her head. "Yes, Jasmine."

We sat like that for a long time, and finally she looked up at me. "Daddy?"

I looked at her.

"Did Mommy love me?"

"Yes, Jasmine, your mother loves you very much, even if she is in Heaven."

And with that, I picked her up and carried her off into the sunset. Sure, life is tough, but I know that I will see Gabriella again in Heaven one day. And that's all that I need to hang on and be strong.

**Thanks for reading! Please review, and while you're at it, tell me if I should do a story from their daughter's point of view about what life is like without her mother- her first time being a woman, her wedding day, the day she gives birth to her first child…**

**_In Loving Memory of Kaitlyn: November 3rd, 1989- February 4th, 2007. _**

"_**Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." – Hebrews 11:1**_

**This is pretty much what happened to Kaitlyn, except that she didn't have a daughter. **

**Thank you, Sharayah **


	2. Just Like Kindergarten

**Hey, guys! It's me, and I'm back to continue this oneshot! Thanks for all of your support, and today is the one week anniversary of Kaitlyn's death. Your thoughts and prayers mean so much to me and of course to her family. I think I've been watching too many High School Musical videos on youtube, cuz I'm starting to sound like them!**

**Thanks to Troyellameant2be for this idea!**

Chapter One: Just Like Kindergarten

Troy woke up on a warm bright day in early September, dreading the day to come. Today was Jasmine's first day of kindergarten, and Gabriella wasn't here to see her daughter off to school. Jasmine was already very smart, just like her mother had been. She already knew how to read and write and math and science came easily to her. The school had offered to let her skip ahead to second grade, but Troy wanted her to have friends her own age, just like he had had growing up. He also wanted her to have a regular kindergarten experience, as Gabriella would have wanted her to.

He slowly stood up and stretched, his yawn making his eyes water. He looked up at that moment at the picture of Gabriella that was hanging over his bed. Tears formed in his eyes, and he unwillingly let them fall. He missed her, even almost six years later the pain was unbearable. He thought about her every day- her beautiful smile, her voice singing songs softly to Jasmine at night, her wonderful laugh. Troy wiped away his unwanted tears. He had to be brave today. Today was a big day for Jasmine, the first of many.

He looked through his closet and chose the same outfit he had worn the day he and Gabriella met at the ski lodge. The day that changed their lives completely, and forever. He tugged a tight white tank on and put his shirt on over it, buttoning it as he went. He pulled on his pants, grabbed his belt, and attempted to put it on while also turning on his television. There was some romantic movie on, and he looked at it for a moment before turning the channel. He couldn't watch that today.

When he had his socks and shoes on, he grabbed his basketball bag and walked quickly to the kitchen, where he found his five-year-old daughter sitting at the table, eating cereal. "Good morning, Daddy!" she said brightly, bringing tears to Troy's eyes. "I'm excited for school, aren't you?" she asked. "I'm all ready, except for my hair. I was wondering if you could do it like Mommy's in that picture Grandma gave me. You know, the one where she had the braids?"

Troy looked down at his baby girl. Her eyes were full of hope, and she looked just like Gabriella had the day they auditioned for the musical. He nodded, speechless. She threw her arms around him and held on as tightly as she could, startling him. He did the same, picking her up so they had perfect eye contact. She grinned.

"I love you, Daddy," she said, looking up at him. He smiled.

"I love you, too, Jasmine," he replied. He tried his best to braid her hair, and to tell you the truth, it didn't look bad at all, especially for the second generation East High Varsity basketball coach.

Jasmine grabbed her little backpack, which had a pink and white tie-dyed pattern on it. Troy had taken her school shopping last week, and she had gotten pencils, the bag, some clothes, markers, crayons, and a Disneyesque lunchbox. Now she grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door. "Come on Daddy, we have to hurry! I hope my teacher is nice!" she exclaimed.

When they arrived at her school, they looked for her classroom. They finally found it, and Troy did a double-take on the teacher name above the door before following his over-eager daughter into the room. "_Welcome to Mrs. Danforth's Kindergarten Class,"_ the sign read. Mrs. Danforth? It couldn't be...no. He pushed all thoughts out of his head of the teacher being who he thought it was.

When he walked into the room, holding Jasmine's hand tightly, he looked around. Kids were running around, playing with the toys and shyly sitting on the floor in the story corner. Just then, a familiar-looking woman approached him.

"Troy?" asked the young woman.

He looked at her closely. "Taylor?"

"Oh my gosh, Troy, how've you been?" she asked, fighting the urge to hug him.

"I've been alright, I guess. We're getting along," he replied. "How about you?"

"Well, I went to USC, and now I'm back here, teaching kindergarten. I really wanted to teach, and I remembered how Gabriella always used to tell us to do everything like kindergarten, and I fell in love with the curriculum. So here I am."

"I, uh, noticed your name out there," he said nervously, motioning towards the hallway.

"Oh! Yes, well, Chad and I got married right after our first year of college. We have a little girl, in fact who's starting kindergarten here, too. She's uh…" she paused, searching the room. Her eyes landed on the four and a half year old girl. "Desiree, come here!" she said.

The little girl shyly approached Jasmine. "Hello, my name is Desiree," she said to her. Jasmine held out her hand, and Desiree shook it. Both of them smiled. They held hands and ran off to play. _Just like Kindergarten_, Troy thought to himself. He smiled.

Looking back up at Taylor, he said, "She's adorable."

"Thanks. Hey, do you and Jasmine want to come over for dinner tonight? Chad and I would love to have you over, and I'm sure Desiree would love to show off the new baby to Jasmine," Taylor offered, jotting their telephone number and address down on a sheet of paper. 

"We'd love to! I've gotta run, but I'll see you tonight," he replied. Before turning to leave, he added with a slight lump in his throat, "Please take care of her. She's all I have, Taylor, all that's left of Gabriella besides memories and pictures and stuff."

"She'll be fine. In fact, if she likes to color and eat snacks, she'll even have fun today. That's all we're doing."

"She loves it. She drew a picture of her mother once," he said, glancing at his daughter and her new friend.

"Oh, Troy…"

He smiled and let loose a tear he had been holding back. He took one last look at Jasmine before heading out the door. Her first day of kindergarten, no problem. Her first big day had been started off great. He couldn't wait to see his best friend from high school later that evening, and smiled. Maybe life wasn't so bad after all. Little did he know that tonight would forever change he and Jasmine's lives forever…

**Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I have to let my brother online now, so I hope you liked it! What happens next? Well, that's for me to know, and you to find out. I'll give you a hint though: who has blonde hair, a love for the theater, a twin brother, and is freshly without a boyfriend? You should know, shame if you don't! Character pairings might change since Gabriella is gone, but let me reassure you that I will forever love Troyella and will never change my mind! Please review! **

**Thanks, Sharayah**


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